Everton’s Transfer Deadline Day – So Near Yet So Far With Giroud And Vermaelen

It’s been a busy summer for Ronald Koeman as he remodels his Everton squad following the departure of striker Romelu Lukaku, 24, to Manchester United. Armed with the £75m from that deal and significant backing from majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri, the Dutchman brought in 13 players, spending around £150m in the process.

There were two positions which he specified he wanted filling: central striker and central defender. His solutions were Arsenal past and present. His plans though, went awry.

First to fall through was a year-long loan deal for The Gunners wantaway Spanish attacker, Lucas Perez. The 28-year-old was frustrated by his lack of first team opportunities and Koeman reignited his interest from last summer when Arsenal outbid Everton for Perez.

It was to prove a frustrating day with the north London club refusing to strengthen a team they consider to be their rivals for a place in the top six. Eventually, Perez returned to Deportivo La Coruna.

While that was going on, Everton contacted Barcelona about taking Belgian international centre back, Thomas Vermaelen, 31, on loan. Their hopes were thwarted as the Catalans had already loaned Marlon Santos, a La Masia graduate, to Nice.

The final blow came when long-time transfer target Olivier Giroud, 30, made it clear he would not leave Arsenal. The Daily Star reports that this was due to his wife making it clear to him that she had no intention of leaving London.